The Crossfade
by bievwer
Summary: When Jewel wakes up disoriented with a broken wing the day after the tumultuous events with Nigel and the poachers, Blu needs to tell her something important that he wishes he would not have to tell her.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

A painfully loud screeching noise pierced through Jewel's eardrums and sent her awake with a violent twitch, accompanied by a loud gasp. Her now wide open eyes darted around desperately trying to focus on something. After blinking a couple of times, clearing the blur from her eyes, she could establish that her vision was completely blocked by what appeared to be a wall of leaves and twigs. Looking to her side, she could see that she was laying face down in a nest inside a tree hollow.

While her initial confusion was slowly dissipating, the screeching noise was persistently violating her auditory reception. Directing some of her newly found focus to the noise, she soon recognized it as the screeching of a monkey. A puzzled look spread across her face as she noticed something odd about the noise. Having lived her entire life in the jungle she had heard a monkey or two screeching in her days, but none of them ever sounded quite like this. In her mind she could only describe the sound she was hearing as scratchy, thin and lifeless, as if the monkey's vocal cords had been torn out and ground against a sharp rock.

The noise eventually stopped, letting Jewel's senses go back to deciphering the mystery of her current whereabouts. Playing a guessing game seemed to her like a waste of time. Being a bird of action, she rose onto her talons with a strained expression on her face and groggily wobbled over to the knothole, almost toppling over a couple of times as she did so. After steadying herself against the frame of the knothole, she immediately spread her wings and launched herself out of the hollow. To her dismay, only her right wing did as it was told. Her other wing did nothing but send her brain a sharp signal of pain, which was nothing compared to the pain she anticipated as she rapidly fell towards the ground. Her eyes widened and a loud shriek escaped her beak as she flapped her only responding wing in a desperate attempt to stay airborne. There wasn't enough time for her to realize the futility of her actions until she crashed against the ground with a loud thud.

A moment of absolute silence followed. Laying face down flat on the ground, Jewel slowly and shakily lifted her head and let out a strained groan. Her entire body ached badly. She could swear even her tail feathers were hurting. The pain in her left wing, however, overshadowed every other sensation her body was giving her. Concluding that she must have landed on her wing, Jewel turned her head to perform a damage inspection. To her surprise she found that it was tightly wrapped in white cloth.

"What the...?"

She drew her head back and frowned at the sight of the foreign material hugging her wing before fiercely attacking it with her beak trying to tear it off. As soon as she bit into it and started pulling she had to stifle a scream as the pain in her wing intensified even further. Immediately she let go, looked at the ground and sighed in resignation.

"Oh, great."

Weakly but decisively, Jewel rose onto her talons and sucked air through her clenched beak as she did so, as if the extra oxygen was needed to alleviate the rising pain in her body. Quickly assessing that none of her legs seemed to be broken, she slowly started putting one talon in front of the other.

Having been too busy hurting herself lately, Jewel hadn't taken much notice of her surroundings. Looking around, she could see not only one sun, but several miniature suns shining from different directions. She was surrounded by green foliage which in her mind couldn't even fool a stupid pet. She soon spotted the all too familiar air vent she had once tried to break open with a rock. The memories bubbling up in her mind seemed to tell the tale of a past life long forgotten, though they originated only from yesterday. She remembered the human who had brought her back here. This human had tried his best to handle Jewel with utmost care despite her frequent disagreements with him regarding his methods. She also remembered the reason she had so reluctantly let herself be handled by a human—and the very reason she was still alive.

"Blu?"

Her voice was weak and hoarse like she was using her vocal cords for the first time in her life. She cleared her throat and tried again.

"BLU, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

As Jewel slowly walked towards the bird sized metal door she had once unwillingly been shoved through, she looked around trying to spot any sign of blue feathers not belonging to her own plumage. When no sign of life was in sight, she started to feel uneasy.

 _How long had she been out? Had Blu left for Tiny Soda without even saying good bye? Would he ever come back? Were the humans going to keep her a prisoner here forever?_

Without realizing it, her thoughts had sent her chest heaving rapidly and a look of despair had crept across her face. Abandoned or not, she had no intention of staying in this cage forever. Jewel frowned, took a deep breath and fluffed her feathers. She backed up a few steps, lowered her head and fixed her now squinted eyes on the metal door.

With a drawn out shriek, Jewel charged at the door like a raging bull, temporarily forgetting about her mangled and aching body. When reaching the small stream close to the door she pushed off with her talons with all the force she could muster, sending her flying over the stream towards the door. She closed her eyes tight and drew her beak close to her chest, anticipating the impact. Right at that moment she heard a scream.

"WHOA!"

The feather-to-metal impact Jewel had been expecting did not occur. It was much softer in nature, more like a feather-to-feather impact. Jewel groaned and blinked her eyes open, only possessing enough strength to open them halfway. The impact may have been softer than expected, but her body was in no condition to take abuse of any degree at this point. What Jewel could see when she opened her eyes was the lower half of a black beak surrounded by feathers of a rather familiar dark blue shade.

"Blu?"

The beak half Jewel was staring at parted slightly from it's upper counterpart to let a sound escape between the two halves.

"Ow..."

Blu lay there with his neck against the back wall of the small space behind the metal door. His legs and wings were spread out on the floor. Jewel found herself laying on her stomach on top of him with her head resting on his chest, angled so that she was looking right up at his chin.

Blu brought a wing to the back of his head and rubbed it while he looked down to see what had hit him, and he instantly recognized the turquoise eyes staring back at him. They were as beautiful as the last time he had seen them.

"Uhhh... Jewel? Are you oka—Ouffff!"

Blu was cut off by Jewel pushing her good wing down on his stomach as she pushed herself off of him.

"Sorry Blu, I didn't mean to crash into _you_." Jewel shakily rose to her talons and offered him her wing to help him up.

Blu bashfully averted his eyes and stretched his wings towards hers to accept her help. "It's okay Jewel, it's my fault for—Wait, what? What did you _mean_ to crash into?!" Blu quickly shook off his former apologetic expression and shot her a confused frown.

While Jewel grabbed his wing and started pulling him up, she rolled her eyes. "No, I was just—AH!" Right then her body failed her and she fell right back onto Blu who quickly broke her fall with his wings.

"Jewel, you shouldn't even be out of your nest. You should be resting!" Blu's voice cracked slightly from the sudden rise in volume and his face was showing obvious concern for the female.

Jewel looked away and bit down hard on her lower beak half trying to suppress a painful expression. "Blu, I'm fine! Just let me..." Jewel began struggling to stand up again when Blu's eyes suddenly froze.

"Jewel, who did that to you?"

"What?" Jewel stopped and looked up to Blu's face and saw that he was looking at something to her left side. She followed his gaze until her own eyes landed upon her brutalized wing loosely wrapped in torn bandages.

"It was Nigel. Don't you remember?"

Blu helped Jewel stand up as he stood up himself. "No, I mean, the bandages. Who tore them up like that?" Blu walked over to the door and looked around inside the breeding chamber with an uneasy look on his face. He gulped when he felt a shiver down his spine. "Is someone else in here with you?"

Realizing she had done something she probably shouldn't have, Jewel remained silent while trying to come up with an answer.

Blu looked back at her. "Jewel?"

Jewel sighed and looked at the ground. "No... No Blu, I did it. I can't fly with this stupid thing on!"

"Fly? FLY?! Jewel, your wing is broken! That means you are not supposed to fly!"

Jewel was still looking at the ground, gloomily, not saying a word.

At that moment, Blu realized something. Being a playful bird by nature, he had pulled a lot of crazy stunts over the years in Linda's care, only to be taken to the veterinarian for treatment every time he got himself hurt. He remembered being very scared the first time, but thankfully Linda had been there to make him feel safe. Eventually it had become the most natural thing in the world. When sick or injured you go to the doctor and he will fix you. It was simple, and nothing to be afraid of.

Looking at Jewel now, Blu realized she had been fending for herself in the jungle her whole life. This was her first encounter with modern medicine, and unlike him, she had no one there to tell her it was going to be okay.

"Look, Tulio will fix you up and before you know it you'll be back flying in the jungle again!" said Blu with as much cheerfulness as he could muster.

Jewel appeared to think for a moment before speaking. "What about you?"

"What? What about me?" said Blu, obviously confused by the sudden change of subject.

"You know, I go back to being free in the jungle and you go find Linda. Well, you found Linda. So..." Jewel averted her eyes from Blu as her speech trailed off.

Blu gulped. He knew that Jewel was asking a question he did not want to answer. Blu knew that for a bird like Jewel, sitting still for weeks on end would be hell on earth. As his heart was growing heavy with guilt, he wished he could tell her that he would be there for her throughout her recovery. He wished he could at least redeem himself for being the cause of her current predicament. As he realized that Jewel was still waiting intently for his answer he had to say something, anything.

Blu looked down at the ground sadly and sighed. "Jewel, I... I'm sorry."

"What?" Jewel raised an eyebrow. "Sorry for what?"

Blu was about to speak when the door at the end of the room suddenly opened. Both birds looked over to see Tulio march in, followed by Linda who was sneaking in like she was trying not to wake a sleeping baby.

"Blu?" Linda called out while looking around.

"Blu! Come here, boy!" Tulio filled in.

Turning back to look at Blu, Jewel donned a worried expression. "Blu, what's going on?"

Blu looked back at Jewel with his mouth wide open trying to find the right words, but none came to him. When he saw Jewel back away swiftly with a fearful look on her face, he realized that Tulio and Linda must be standing right behind him.

"There is my big brave boy!" exclaimed Linda with a smile on her face as she sat down on her knees beside Blu who looked up and greeted her with a weak smile. Turning back to where Jewel had been standing, all he could see were her wide eyes peeking out from behind a tuft of fake foliage.

Blu looked up to Linda again with a pleading expression on his face. Having known her best friend for the past 15 years, Linda knew what this expression meant. "Oh right, of course. We'll be by the door waiting for you when you're ready," she said before getting up and giving Tulio a light nudge. When Linda and Tulio had disappeared out of sight, all that could be heard was the unconvincing jungle noises coming from the speakers around the room. After what seemed like an eternity, Blu decided to break the silence.

"Jewel, you can come out now," he said. Jewel remained where she was, not uttering so much as a chirp. All she did was stare at Blu like she was trying to turn him into stone by shear willpower.

"Jewel..."

"No," she said sternly.

With an apologetic look written on his face, Blu took a few steps towards Jewel's hiding place. "Listen, I just want to say—"

"No! Just go!" Blu stopped abruptly as he was cut off by Jewel's cracking voice. She looked away and her chest started heaving rapidly.

Blu was about to say something else when he heard Linda calling him from the door. "Blu, we have to get going soon!" He looked to the door and quickly jerked his head back when he heard Jewel's venomous voice speak to him from behind the leafs.

"You heard your master."

Though he felt like his heart had just been ripped out through his throat and trampled on, Blu did not retort. In his mind he was responsible for sending Jewel straight into the clutches of Nigel and the poachers. Had he simply chosen to stay in Minnesota where he belonged, none of this would have happened. Jewel would have been safe and sound, and perhaps even free. How could he defend himself against any insult when he felt like he deserved all the insults in the world?

Blu could feel the lower half of his beak starting to quiver. In a swift motion he turned around and lifted off the ground.

Jewel, still looking away, could hear the sound of his wings flapping. Following that, she heard Linda say something at the door, and then there was the sound of the door closing. Jewel stayed still for a moment, waiting for another sound, but all she heard was the sound of her broken heart thumping wildly in her chest. She did not even flinch when the monkey started screeching from the speakers again.

###


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The brightly colored pegs carelessly jammed into the side of the hollowed tree were by far the most insulting elements in the entire breeding chamber. While the humans had at least tried to make the rest of the chamber look like a real jungle, those pegs stood out like a sore thumb shining with all the impossible colors of the rainbow. This proved that the humans were either purposefully trying to mock birds for being birds, or that they were just plain stupid. Actually, both cases seemed to make sense.

Jewel was standing on the ground below the tree, looking up to the hollow which was her final destination for the night. Although it was the same hollow she had been forced to sleep in before meeting Blu, she could swear that it was much higher up this time. Jewel eyed her left wing which had been tightly re-wrapped in a new set of white bandages, and then she looked around the chamber as if expecting a miracle to whoosh in at any moment.

She had to admit to herself the shortage of miracles in her immediate surroundings, and her entire posture deflated as she turned back to look at the pegs stuck to the side of the tree. After letting out a deep sigh of resignation, Jewel dragged herself to the base of the tree and bit down on the lowermost peg with her beak and started pulling herself up, one peg at a time. Not being used to using her beak and talons as her primary mode of transportation, she had to use her wings to steady herself a couple of times on the way up. Although she was careful of using her broken wing, her natural reflexes sometimes made it take on a life of it's own. When she accidentally tried to flap it, she had only a fraction of a second to regret her action before the bandaged appendage exploded with pain and a muffled cry escaped her beak. The fact that the peg in her beak was colored a bright yellow did little to help lift her crushed spirit.

When Jewel finally reached the knothole she pulled herself inside the hollow and walked over to the messy pile of leaves and twigs on the floor. Out in the jungle she would have fetched some fresh leaves and vines from a live tree to make her nest as tidy and comfortable as possible, but tonight she did not care. This was not home. By making this human made nest her own, she might as well be digging her own grave, she thought.

Jewel climbed into the nest and let her tired legs give out for the night as she plumped down in the middle of it. She paused for a moment and stared off into space as her breathing was slowing down. She would have tucked her head under her wing and drifted off into a peaceful slumber, but tonight she found that she couldn't. The jungle noises that usually echoed around the chamber were not to be blamed, as they had been dimmed down for the night. It was the little monkey constantly chattering away inside Jewel's head that prevented her from going to sleep. Like a broken record, it would keep replaying the awful moment when Blu had left her.

 _He was just trying to say good bye and she had yelled at him. He had no choice but to leave, right? That Linda woman made him go, didn't she? Stupid human. Why didn't Blu stand up to her? After all they had been through, was he really that weak-minded? Maybe he actually wanted to leave for his precious Minnesota. For his own sake he better not come back. Stupid pet. Stupid pathetic pet. Good riddance._

 _Good riddance._

The words echoed inside Jewel's head. She snapped out of her thoughts when she noticed a bunch of loose blue feathers scattered in the nest beneath her, and one more in her beak. Their light blue shade suggested that they originated from her own plumage. Who else would they belong to? There was no one else there. Jewel spit the feather out and her eyes began to water. She blinked a couple of times and shook her head, hoping they would dry up. This wasn't like her. She had only plucked her own feathers like this once before in her life. It was on that dreadful night after losing her fami—. An involuntary sob escaped her beak and she squeezed her eyes shut as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Stupid Jewel," she whispered to herself. Her sobs began to stutter and tears flowed from her eyes like small Amazonian waterfalls trickling down a steep cliff.

#

According to not so recent studies in the field of ornithology, disturbing a wild macaw's circadian rhythm could be detrimental to it's health and general well being. As a doctor of ornithology it is your duty not only to know these things, but to enforce them as well.

Tulio stood inside the cramped, dark observation room sipping his morning coffee while looking through the large window that offered him a view into the dimly lit breeding chamber. A myriad of self-illuminated buttons on the control panels in front of him polluted the atmosphere in the room and made it difficult to see anything through the window but his own reflection.

He glanced down at his wrist watch before leaning closer to the window hoping to get a better look inside. When he saw nothing but darkness through the window, he glanced down at his watch again and decided it was time. On the control panel in front of him, right next to a glowing button labeled "Lionel Richie program" was another button conveniently labeled "Morning program". Tulio pushed the latter button and spotlights started firing their light cones in all directions on the other side of the window, successively bathing the entire breeding chamber with their harsh, artificial light. Although he could now see clearly through the window, there was no sign of the rare specimen he was hoping to see.

Tulio stepped through the door into the breeding chamber carrying a small bird cage. His ears were immediately engulfed by the various screeching noises that were part of the morning program. While walking carefully through the fake foliage, he looked around high and low to see if he could spot the very special macaw he was looking for. This was a task he would not assign even to his most trusted assistant. This particular macaw was in fact so special that he still doubted that he himself could handle her.

Concluding that Jewel must be sleeping, Tulio headed for the hollowed tree and slowly peaked into the hole, careful not to startle the poor injured bird. Sure enough, lying there inside the hollow was one of the rarest gems in the jungles of Brazil—no, in the entire world. Tulio had to stop for a moment to marvel at the sight. Jewel had her eyes closed, her beak tucked under her wing and her chest was rising and falling at a slow but steady rhythm. She looked almost like an animatronic tourist attraction on display in a museum of creatures that went extinct long ago—a scenario that was now painfully close to becoming reality. Shaking off this realization, Tulio noticed the light blue feathers scattered around the hollow and a frown crept upon his face. As a doctor of ornithology he knew all to well that excessive feather plucking is a bad sign.

"Hey..." he whispered into the hole, as if trying to wake Jewel up and not wake her up at the same time. He still remembered how this "spirited" bird had left one of his assistants looking like roadkill just a few days ago.

The exotic little creature inside the hollow did not appear to have been roused by his voice. Tulio stared at her blankly for a moment, not daring to move or breathe. Then his face lit up as a thought struck him. Maybe waking her up in her own language would make her feel safe. Yes, that's it! He better take care to get the wording right, he thought. He cleared his throat.

"Erhm... Bagaaawk!"

Jewel's eyes shot up and widened at the sight of Tulio's face. For a split second her eyes did not seem to recognize him at all. She screeched loudly and flapped her right wing violently, blue feathers whirling around her like a small hurricane. In the turmoil she tripped over the edge of the nest and landed right on her bad wing, which caused her to let out a throat ripping shriek that forced Tulio to cover his ears.

"Jewel, please calm down!" Tulio held up his hands between his face and the hysterical beast flapping around inside the hollow. "Jewel, it's okay! Shhh! It's okay!"

The initial shock seemed to be dying when Jewel eventually backed into the far corner of the hollow and shrunk into a trembling ball of feathers.

"Shhh, it's okay," Tulio repeated in a hushed tone while he leaned his face closer to the hollow. "It's just me, don't be afraid."

Still trembling, Jewel slowly peaked up from under her wing to look at Tulio. Those eyes of hers now seemed to recognize him, but they looked anything but happy.

"Sorry for scaring you like that. My bird speak is still work in progress," Tulio said with a sheepish grin.

Jewel, now having calmed down a bit, still had her stern eyes locked on Tulio as she let out a couple of squawks at him. Had she been able to talk, he guessed she would have berated him.

Tulio opened the cage and lifted it up against the knothole. "Come on, I need to check on that wing of yours."

At the sight of the cage Jewel immediately shrunk back.

"Please, Jewel. We need to work together here." Tulio shot her a concerned look.

Jewel frowned and looked away, exhaling sharply.

Tulio appeared to think for a moment before his face hardened. He demonstratively put the cage down on the floor and lifted his arm up against the hollow entrance. He noticed the perplexed look on Jewel's face before he turned his head to look the other way.

For a seemingly endless moment, the only motion that could be detected in the chamber were that of running water, and the only sounds that could be heard were those blasting from the speakers. Neither of them moved. The waiting game had started.

Tulio, still looking the other way, let out a sigh. "Jewel, if you—"

Right then Tulio could feel a set of talons slowly stepping onto and grabbing hold of his arm, and his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

#

As Jewel was whooshing through seemingly endless corridors perched on Tulio's arm, she couldn't help but flinch every time a human would turn their head to look at her. In her mind she was in a predator's den, and with all those piercing gazes fixed on her she felt a warm, pressing sensation rising in her chest. If it weren't for her broken wing, she thought, she would have darted out of there in a heartbeat.

Tulio made a turn and brought her into a small, white room with no windows. It was littered with straight lines and sharp edges. Unlike the fake jungle, this room did not pretend to be anything other than human made. She was relieved to find that there at least were no other humans in there. However, her sense of relief slowly dissipated as Tulio lowered his arm next to a table and motioned for her to step onto it. Compared to the table in front of her she now felt oddly secure being perched on Tulio's arm. She looked up at Tulio, who gave her a smile and a small nod. Slowly, she obeyed and stepped onto the table and turned around to face him.

"Okay, Jewel. Let's have a look..." Tulio said as he was bending down and stretching his hand out towards her.

Not being sure what that hand was up to, she instinctively backed away from it.

"It's okay... it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you," he said as he continued.

Jewel eyed Tulio's hand and looked up at his face that was smiling warmly at her. She flinched when she suddenly felt his hand on her bad wing. He was rubbing it gently through the bandages.

"Well, that doesn't seem to hurt, does it?" he said.

 _It didn't hurt. It felt a little funny, but it didn't hurt._

"What if I do this?" she heard him say, and felt his hand grabbing her wing more firmly and giving it a massage. Although she would never in a million years admit it to anyone, it actually felt kind of nice. If Blu had seen her right now he would have a good laugh, she thought. She could picture him smirking at her for letting a human pet her. She would tell him to shut up, and he totally would because he always seemed so afraid of making her angry. Stupid pet, she thought, and she noticed that she was smiling.

Jewel snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a sharp, stinging sensation in her wing. She let out a small squawk and tried to draw her wing away but Tulio held it in a firm grip.

"Seems like we found the spot," he said as he kept rubbing it.

Jewel squirmed and for a second she considered biting his thumb off, but then she heard Blu's concerned voice in her head, telling her not to.

#

After having endured what seemed like a torture session, Jewel was standing on the table with her wing tightly wrapped in new bandages. Her head hung low. Oh how she wished this nightmare would end soon. Heck, she even wished Tulio would just bring her back to the fake jungle room. She glanced up at Tulio who was sitting in a chair in front of her.

"You did really good Jewel, really good. Your wing is healing like it's supposed to, but I really wish you would stop plucking your feathers," he said.

 _His words were reassuring, they really were. Maybe her wing would heal and maybe he would let her go back to the jungle where she belongs. Yeah, back to the jungle. Back to the way things were, like none of this ever happened. None of it at all._

Jewel's head hung low again. She let out a deep sigh.

"Hey, cheer up little lady. Your wing will be back to normal in no time," Tulio said as he brought his face down to look into her eyes.

Her mind might have been playing tricks on her, but this human looked genuinely concerned for her. His brows furled into a frown and he appeared to be lost in his thoughts for a moment while looking Jewel over from top to toe. Jewel shifted a bit, and just when she was about to say something to disrupt the awkward moment, Tulio's eyes lit up like fireworks.

"Wait here!", he said as he motioned for her to stay, and then he quickly spun out of his chair and disappeared out the door. He seemed to be in such a rush that he didn't even bother to close the door behind him.

 _The door._

Wide-eyed and with beak agape, Jewel carefully walked across the table towards the door. When she reached the end of the table she slowly leaned forward and looked over the edge. This was a high table. Too high. She backed up a couple of steps and eyed her bandaged wing for a moment. Useless. She looked up at the door again and let out a deep sigh of resignation.

A faint sound of brisk footsteps appeared to be getting closer and closer by the second. Jewel recognized the sound of Tulio's chattering voice accompanying said footsteps. He was clearly talking to someone.

Tulio hurriedly entered the room and without hesitation walked straight over to the table where Jewel was standing. He was holding a flat, weird looking thing against his head and he appeared to be talking to it.

This is it, Jewel thought. He has lost his mind and he is coming to kill her. She instinctively backed away until she felt her tail bumping into the wall at the far end of the table.

Tulio stopped in his tracks. It was as if he had woken up from being possessed by that demon in his hand.

Jewel's chest was heaving rapidly and her heart was pecking away inside her chest like a frenetic little woodpecker.

Tulio looked off into space as he again started talking into the thing. "Yes, you can put him on now," he said, and turned back to Jewel with a wide grin on his face.

Jewel hadn't dared move a muscle. She was staring at Tulio with wide eyes and her beak agape as she was trying to make sense of the situation. As if things couldn't get any weirder, Tulio slowly parted the thing from his head and carefully placed it on the table.

"It's for you," he said with a smile as he pushed the strange thing a little closer to her, and then he backed away from the table. "Go on," he said while giving her a firm nod with his head.

Jewel eyed the weird thing in front of her and slowly started walking towards it. Glancing up at Tulio, she could see the mad man's grin widening a little bit further with every step she took. When she finally reached it she bent down for a closer inspection.

"Hello?" the thing said.

Jewel quickly drew her head back and fluffed her feathers as she stared at the thing in front of her with wide eyes.

 _No. It can't be._

"Anyone there? Helloooo?"

She looked up at Tulio who's grin was now so wide she was afraid he would eat his own ears. The thing on the table was talking to her. She couldn't believe her ears, yet the voice coming out of it was familiar. Only a few days ago she had found it to be the most annoying voice in the world and she couldn't stand listening to it for more than three seconds at a time. Hearing the sound of that voice now, however, was like finding your way back home after being lost in a tropical rainstorm for days and days.

The thing was clearly waiting for her to respond. She had to say something.

"Blu?"

###

 **To those who have read and reviewed, I want to express my sincerest appreciation. Real life may prevent me from updating more frequently, but your interest will keep me going to the end because I hope to not disappoint you all.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Blu?"

"Earth to Blu, hellooo?"

The distant female voice calling his name was like a ghost grabbing and pulling at him from beyond the cold grave, urging him to join the land of the dead.

"Blu!"

He gasped as he was violently jerked back into reality. When he acknowledged the world around him, it was like stepping into a different dimension. He found himself staring at a street covered in snow. Thick gray blotches of clouds painted the sky above it, making the whole scenery look like an old black and white photograph. If it hadn't been for the protective glass window separating him from the street, he would have been freezing cold.

Blu turned to look over his shoulder where the voice had been coming from. Linda was standing there behind him with motherly concern plastered all over her face.

"You haven't touched your hot chocolate," she said. "Is something wrong?"

 _Oh. Right. The chocolate._

On the window sill in front of him was a plate with six cookies and a cup of hot chocolate. Swimming around in the cup were no less than six marshmallows, as always. Nothing was wrong. Sure, it may have been unusually cold inside the bookstore even for a winter in Minnesota, but nothing else was wrong. Since coming back from Rio, everything was exactly the way it had always been.

Blu performed his most cheerful smile and most upbeat squawk for his human companion before taking a large sip from the cup and wiping his beak clean with his wing.

Linda chuckled and smiled at him. "Okay Blu. I will be sorting through a new delivery. Just let me know if you need anything, okay?" she said as she disappeared behind some shelves.

"Will do, Linda!" Blu called after her while keeping up his cheerful smile.

When Linda was out of sight, Blu's smile faded. He sighed and looked down at the cup in front of him. An icy chill ran through his body and made him shudder. He must have been lost in his thoughts for quite some time, because his hot chocolate was as freezing cold as the rest of the bookstore.

A loud thud against the window made Blu flinch. He turned to look and saw a thick patch of snow sliding down the outside of the window, leaving a trail of partly melted bits on the glass on it's way down. Another snowball hit the window, but this time Blu didn't flinch. Cackling laughter was coming from the outside. Blu sighed and rolled his eyes as he looked out through the window.

On a bench outside the bookstore sat Alice and Chloe, the two geese that seemed to exist for the sole purpose of taunting him.

"Oh look, our favorite nerd bird is back!"

"Yeah, I thought he had gone extinct or something!"

"Hey nerd bird, why didn't you stay extinct?!" They both laughed.

They weren't wrong. With the way things were, he was practically already going extinct. Instead of dignifying the geese with an answer they wouldn't understand or care about, Blu just stared at them blankly.

"Maybe he came back for our special number?" Alice said while she turned around and lifted her rump high in the air. Chloe did the same and both geese started swaying their rumps from left to right.

"Na na na na na!" they sang in unison while shamelessly performing their special number, giving Blu a good view of their behinds.

Blu's eyes drooped and he huffed. While the geese continued taunting him, he waved a dismissive wing towards them and turned away from the window. He hopped off the window sill and climbed inside his birdcage right next to it. The geese were calling after him.

"Hey pet, where'd you go?!"

"Yeah, you haven't seen the finale yet!"

"Hey! Something-blue-something-borrowed, we're talking to you!"

"Yeah, don't be such a bummer!"

Blu plumped down on the sitting stick inside his cage and closed the door, ignoring the cackling outside the window. Eventually they stopped and he was left in silence.

 _He was back in Minnesota, alright. Nothing had changed. Not the chocolate, not Alice and Chloe, not the bell—hey, the bell!_

Blu's eyes lit up as he saw his favorite toy in the world hanging from the cage ceiling right in front of him—his shiny golden bell. He lifted his talon and gave the bell a good nudge, which made it ring with a high pitched tone that always used to give him a tingle. Blu smiled and gave it another nudge as he started humming a melody in tune with the bell.

"Hm hm hm hmmm hm..."

He hit the bell again, closed his eyes and swayed his head back and forth in a gentle rhythmic fashion as he continued humming to himself.

"Hm hm hm hmmm hm, I wanna party, I wanna samba..."

He hit the bell harder. The clear ringing tone seemed to morph into a strong yet sweet voice of an angel, now singing along with him. Through his closed eyes he could make out the shape of her wide spread wings, her puffed out chest, her long silky tail feathers and her sparkling eyes. Her entire form seemed to be radiating with a bright blue flame.

"Laya laya laya layaaa..." they sang together. Blu's voice must have sounded like a giraffe being tortured to death with a screwdriver compared to hers, but it didn't matter. Through the beauty and power of her angelic voice alone, together they formed a perfect duet.

Laya laya laya laya laya layaaaaa..." they sang.

Blu opened his eyes, and just like that, the angel was gone. Blu's singing trailed off and his smile faded. He stopped hitting the bell and sighed heavily, letting his posture drop. The silent bookstore swallowed the last remaining bits of sound as the bell rang out. The muffled sound of a car passing by on the road outside was the only thing strong enough to cut through the silence.

 _Was it always this quiet?_

Blu looked around his cage and his eyes landed upon a magazine that he had left there before going to Rio. He picked it up slowly and turned it right side up so he could read it. On the front page it said "Popular Mechanics Magazine". There was a picture of an old airplane and a small headline that read in bold capital letters the words "FLYING ACES". There was something about those words.

Bright sunlight burnt his eyes and wind rumbled in his ears. His feathers were dancing in the wind to the festive rhythm of his heart. A distant yet familiar female voice was shouting at him from somewhere.

" _Blu! You're flying!"_

Beneath him, a vast deep blue ocean was rushing past at a million miles per hour, reflecting the equally vibrant sky above him and the shimmering golden light of the sun. In the grip of his talons was the female who was shouting at him. She looked back up at him with a wide smile on her beak. Her teal eyes sparkled in the sunlight just like the ocean beneath them.

 _He was flying. He was really flying. Jewel was right. He was not an ostrich._

They soared through the sky together and Blu's heart filled with joy when he heard Jewel's gleeful scream.

"Waaahooo—Watch it! WHOOAAA!"

His heart must have skipped a few beats when a couple of cable cars appeared out of nowhere right in front of them. Blu gripped onto Jewel for dear life just before the whole world spun out of control. For a second the ocean was up and the sky was down. One of the cable cars barely brushed against the feathers on Blu's back as he passed it, and as if guided by an unknown force, he was able to regain his bearing. Looking down to see if Jewel was still with him, he was met with a big smile.

It all seemed so distant, like a bizarre dream dreamt so long ago that it could have been mistaken for a memory. Blu chuckled and put the magazine down in the cage beside him. "Yeah, flying aces alright."

His face grew heavy and he sighed as he slowly stretched out his wing, just like he had done while standing next to Jewel on that cliff back in Rio where Rafael and her were trying to teach him how to fly. He gazed at his wing with thoughtful eyes. Since coming back to Minnesota, he hadn't flown. Not once.

#

"Okay, here we go. There's nothing to it."

Blu was standing on the top of a bookshelf that stretched out like a runway before him. It wouldn't have been so scary if it weren't for the abrupt end on the other side of it. He peered over the edge to his side and swallowed hard, like he was trying to force a big rock down his throat. It was a high bookshelf. Blu retracted his head just as he could feel the world starting to spin.

He shook his head as if it would make all the fear and dizzyness inside come loose and fall out. "Just remember, it's simple. Thrust, lift, drag and weight..." He lifted his head high and took a deep breath before continuing. "...and the rhythm of your heart."

 _This was it._

Blu squinted his eyes and fixed his hard gaze on the far end of the bookshelf. He drew his head back to gain momentum, and launched himself forward.

As he sprinted across the bookshelf with his wings slightly open and his eyes locked on the target, like an airplane preparing for takeoff, he could have sworn that he heard Jewel's voice yelling at him from a distance.

" _Come on Blu, you can do it!"_

The far edge of the bookshelf was approaching fast. Blu opened his wings as wide as he could and prepared for the final push off the edge.

 _He could do it. He had done it before. This time he could do it._

 _He couldn't do it._

"WHOOAAA!" Blu's talons dug hard into the bookshelf and his wings flapped backwards, causing him to fall on his back and glide forward. He shut is eyes tight and drew his limbs close to his body, anticipating the inevitable fall.

The fall felt unusually pleasant, he thought, like being engulfed by a cloud of warm nothingness. When Blu finally opened his eyes, all he could see was blue feathers. His eyes were covered by his wings, which were also shaking violently. He appeared to still be on his back on top of the bookshelf and his talons were hanging off the edge.

With shaky wings and legs, Blu pushed himself up on his feet and looked out over the bookstore. He let out a heavy sigh as he closed his eyes and dropped his head down low. Any other bird would have been overjoyed to still be in one piece after such an ordeal. Blu just stood there on the edge in silence with his head hung low.

"You did not feel it in here!" A black wing came from nowhere and touched Blu's chest close to his heart.

Blu turned around, expecting to see the crazy toucan standing beside him with a big grin on that big yellow beak of his, but there was no one there. He was alone. Figment of Blu's imagination or not, it was still true. He did not feel it in there. Not anymore. The rhythm of his heart was gone. He couldn't do it.

Blu sighed and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Jewel."

#

Days rush by so fast when there is nothing to remember them by. Every new day is like another nail in the coffin, successively ceiling your fate a little bit more with each stroke of the hammer.

Blu sat on the kitchen counter in the small apartment that he shared with Linda on top of their bookstore. Downstairs he could hear the doorbell ring, followed by Linda's chirpy voice welcoming a customer into the store. He figured it must be the old lady across the street. She must have been an even bigger bookworm than himself, because she was always the first customer to come into the store every single morning looking for new books.

"Where's Blu today, dear? Oh my, is he...?" Blu could clearly hear the old lady's croaky voice asking for him.

"Oh no no no. He's fine. He's just upstairs finishing his breakfast," Linda quickly assured her.

 _Breakfast. Right. He was supposed to eat that._

On the counter in front of him was a bowl full of his favorite cereals. The old lady was perhaps right to be worried about him. He always used to finish his breakfast before Linda because he usually couldn't wait to help her open the store in the morning. Today he hadn't touched his cereals at all.

Blu sighed and pushed the bowl away from him with his foot. He couldn't bare looking at it any more.

His eyes landed upon the cluttered fridge door in front of him. On it was a shrine of memories telling the story of his life as Linda's companion—or as some would call it—her pet. Next to some pictures of him and Linda goofing off were a bunch of kitchen magnets with words on them, arranged in such a way that they formed simple sentences. He read them from top to bottom.

"my bird is a star"

 _Pfft. You mean the one who can't fly?_

"keep on smiling"

 _Easy for a fridge to say._

"I love snow"

 _Yeah. It's great and all..._

"love a parrot"

 _Right, I love a p—_

Blu froze mid thought and turned his head away. He could not keep reading. These magnets that once represented his friendship with Linda now seemed to have taken on a completely different meaning. Every word stung his heart like a thousand bees.

The phone rang downstairs. It did that sometimes. Blu figured it was either a customer or Linda's mom. He knew, because he would answer the phone himself sometimes when Linda wasn't around. The customers all knew him and would be very amused when he was the one to answer the phone with a squawk.

"Blu! BLU!"

The sound of Linda's ecstatic voice yelling from downstairs snapped him out of his thoughts. Before he could gather his senses enough to respond, the sound of equally ecstatic footsteps rumbled up the staircase while Linda kept calling his name on her way up.

"Blu! Are you up here?!"

When Linda had finally ascended the stairs, she spotted Blu on the kitchen counter and rushed towards him. Blu stood there with his beak wide agape, not being able to make sense of what was happening.

Linda slowed down as she reached the counter and stopped to catch her breath. "Okay... I found him... he's right here," she seemed to say to no one in particular.

Blu then noticed the cordless phone Linda was holding against her ear. She was talking to someone on the phone—about him. Breathing suddenly became more difficult by the second. His recent experiences with humans talking about him without his own involvement hadn't been all too good.

Linda looked off into space as she seemed to be listening to whoever was talking on the other end, and then she looked back at Blu with a huge grin on her face. "It's for you," she said, and slowly put the phone down on the counter in front of him.

With his beak still wide open, Blu looked at the phone, then at Linda, then back at the phone. He may have answered the phone many times before, but he had never in his life received a call specifically for him. Why would anyone want to talk to him?

"Don't be rude, Blu. Say something," Linda chirped with that smile still plastered on her face.

 _She was right. He probably had to say something._

Blu stepped closer to the phone and bent down carefully. "Hello?" he said, and waited patiently for whoever was going to answer him. When no answer came, he tried again. "Anyone there? Helloooo?"

"Blu?"

Blu's eyes went wide. That voice. He had been hearing it a lot in the past few days—in his head. He had to make sure he wasn't still hearing things. "Jewel?!"

#

"Blu?!" Jewel brought her head closer to the talking thing on the table, examining it from all angles. How—how can—what is this?"

"It's me, Jewel! It's Blu!" the thing said.

Jewel was still pacing around it with her eyebrows furled and head tilting from side to side, trying to make sense of the situation. "If it's really you, then why can't I see you? Where are you?"

"Oh! This is a phone!"

"A... phone? You mean like a phoney?"

The thing chuckled. "Oh no no no, nothing like that! A phone, or telephone as it's called, is a human thing that uses a microphone to convert sound into electronic signals that are transmitted through cables or satellite over long distances, like from Minnesota to Rio, and then it replays the signals simultaneously in audible form on the other end. Actually, it was Alexander Graham Bell who—"

"Blu!" Jewel threw herself over the phone and wrapped her good wing around it, hugging it tightly. "It's you! It's really you," she said as she rolled over on her back, cradling the phone with her wing.

"Hehe, yeah. It's me. So how are—"

"It's so good to hear your voice," Jewel said while closing her eyes and nuzzling the tip of the phone sticking out from under her wing.

The phone was silent. Jewel opened her eyes and drew her head back as a frown crept upon her face. "Blu?"

"It's good to hear your voice too," he said.

Jewel's face melted into a warm smile for a moment, but it faded quickly. "So... you're in Tiny Soda, right?"

"Yeah, I'm in _Mini_ -sota", Blu said coldly.

The joke was still the same, but Blu did not sound nearly as amused by it this time. Actually, neither was Jewel. Her face grew heavy. "I just think it's strange." she said.

"Wha—what do you mean?"

"You know," Jewel fidgeted with her wing, "that you're there, and not—I don't know— _here_?"

The phone was silent again.

"Blu? Are you there?" she said.

Out of nowhere, Tulio's hand reached for the phone still nestled in Jewel's wing. "I'm sorry Jewel, but this is a long distance call and you really have to—"

Jewel hopped up and lunged for Tulio's hand with her beak. He retracted his hand just in time before her beak snapped shut where his hand had been. Tulio backed away into the far corner of the room while Jewel walked towards the edge of the table she was standing on and shrieked loudly at him.

Tulio held his hands up. "Okay, okay! On second thought, you can talk for as long as you'd like," he said with a sheepish grin.

Jewel was not amused. She stood on the edge with her hard eyes locked on him, breathing heavily.

"Yeah, I'll be..." Tulio said while pointing to the door. "Just... let me know when you are done," he said and disappeared out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Jewel huffed and walked back to the phone. "Blu? Are you still there?"

"What happened?!" Blu said.

Jewel sat down right next to the phone so that her body brushed against it. "I don't know. Tulio went crazy and tried to take you away from me, but I showed him."

"You _showed_ him? Jewel, what did you do?"

Jewel rolled her eyes. "Oh don't worry, I just scared him a little."

"He was probably just worried about the phone bill, you know," Blu said.

Jewel smirked. "You mean the _phoney_ bill?"

"Ha-ha. Very funny."

Jewel sighed and let her smile drop. "So, what were we talking about?"

A loud gulp could be clearly heard even over the phone. "Uhm—ah—I'm not sure. I think that—"

"I really miss you Blu," Jewel said, interrupting him. The phone went silent again. It seemed to do that a lot.

"Blu?"

"I'm—I'm here", he said.

Jewel's face scrunched up. "No, you're not! That's the problem."

"Jewel, I—"

Jewel stood up. "You said you wouldn't let me go, and then you just left me when I needed you! Do you have any idea what I have gone through?!" Jewel's eyes teared up.

"Please, I'm—"

"What happened to chained-to-each-other birds, huh?" Jewel said with a shaky voice and sniveled once as a tear rolled down her cheek.

Again there was silence. The only thing that could be heard was Jewel's faint sniveling.

Blu sighed. "Listen, Minnesota is not exactly what it used to be."

Jewel wiped a tear from her eye with her wing and looked at the phone. "Wha—what do you mean?" she said, hiccuping a few times.

"I mean, well, everything is the same, but it's different," he said.

Jewel remained silent while waiting for Blu to explain further.

"It's like... I don't know, something's missing. It's like I left something in Rio. Something important." Blu paused and let out a sigh. "Something _very_ important."

"Yeah?" said Jewel as she was leaning closer to the phone. A faint smile was slowly returning to her face.

"You know, I kind of... mess things up sometimes," Blu continued.

Jewel chuckled and wiped another tear from her eye. "Yeah you do."

"So... can you forgive me?" Blu said. "Please."

"I'll think about it," she said and smirked at the phone. "In the meantime, you need to get your clumsy butt back over here so I can kick it."

"And I'll be sure to think about that..." he said.

Jewel smiled briefly before her face turned serious again. "Don't take too long," she said.

"Don't worry, Jewel," he said, "I'll be back as soon as I can."

There was a hint of confidence in Blu's voice that Jewel had heard once before. It was when he had broken out of the cage on the smuggler's plane and he was helping all the other birds to freedom. Jewel smiled and touched the phone with her good wing.

"Uhm," Blu began, "you should probably let Tulio have his phone back now."

Jewel picked the phone up and hugged it to her chest with her good wing. "See you soon, Blu."

"Right... yeah... see you soon too, Jewel," he said.

#

Blu pushed a big red button on the phone with his talon, and the phone went silent. Just a moment ago it had been radiating with life, joy, turbulence, passion and love, but now it was just a dead piece of plastic and metal again. It was like he had killed it. He kept staring at the phone with gloomy eyes.

"You miss her, don't you?" came a voice to his side.

Blu turned to see his human companion still standing there. The look of pity in her eyes was probably meant as a reflection of his own miserable expression. He averted his gaze from hers and looked at the phone again. Still dead. He huffed and hopped off the kitchen counter onto a stool that he used to climb down on the floor. He walked passed Linda without looking at her, heading straight for the staircase on the other end of the room.

"Blu?" he heard her call after him.

"Come on Linda," he said blankly without turning around, "don't we have work to do?"

Blu could feel Linda's worried gaze burning the back of his neck from across the room. Turning around to meet her gaze would have burnt even more. He may have told Jewel that he would come back to her as soon as he could, but what if he couldn't? What if it was too late? What could he do? After all, he was just a useless flightless bird. He shuffled onwards. For now, he had a life to go back to—a cold and monochromatic Minnesota life. There was a bookstore to run, chocolate to drink, books to read and geese to be mocked by.

#

How are you supposed to just watch your best friend in the entire world suffer through the worst heartache of his life when you know how to fix it? Having taken care of your friend since he was just a little chick, how can you with any semblance of a conscience place a price on the little guy's happiness?

The first few rays of morning light had already flooded the bedroom upstairs. Linda lay in her bed with her eyes open, staring at the ceiling. She glanced at her alarm clock beside the bed. It hadn't gone off yet. It was only 6:35. Last time she had checked it had been 5:59. She must had been tossing and turning through the whole night, she figured.

Although it had been a nightmare, the loss of sleep did not bother her now. She had made an important decision regarding Blu, and she was confident that she was making the right choice. All she had to do now was talk to Blu about it.

Linda sat up in her bed and threw her hand on the alarm clock to shut it off when she felt something sticky cling to her fingers. Instinctively she tried to shake it off, but when she saw what was stuck to her fingers, she froze. It was a sticky note, and the light shining through it revealed that something was written on the back side of it. Her eyes widened as she slowly turned her hand towards her so she could read the note. The neat handwriting, or talonwriting, was familiar to her. As she read the words on the note her eyes widened even further and she had to cover her mouth with her other hand.

The note said:

" _Gone to Rio._

 _Something I have to do._

 _Please don't worry._

 _Back soon._

 _Love, Blu."_

Linda gasped and her face turned pale. "Oh Blu."

###

 **A.N: Wow, it's been almost a year. Excited to finally be able to share this chapter with y'all. I have been working hard on it, probably too hard, because I wanted it to be good. If you like the story so far, just keep looking to the horizon for new chapters. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

There is really no reason to go to the outskirts of Moose Lake City at 5 o'clock in the morning in the middle of winter, unless you want breakfast. If you happen to catch George at the Bakery—which is a fitting name for a bakery—or Amy at the Village Café before they open up shop in the morning, they will usually throw you some of yesterday's goodies. They should seriously consider merging their business into one big magnificent food place thing. Well, they could, if it weren't for the corny little book shop that's crammed in between them.

Alice and Chloe sat around the back side of the Village Café, staring at the door, waiting for Amy to play her part. Alice snickered to herself before she glanced over at Chloe.

"Hey, Chloe, wanna hear a joke?"

"Shoot!" said Chloe, giving Alice her full attention.

"Okay," said Alice, barely able to contain her laughter, "here we go, you listening?"

"I'm listening, bird butt! Just tell the joke already!"

"Alright, alright, I'm going to!" Alice chuckled and looked around as if to make sure no one else was listening. "Here we go," she continued, "what..."

"Yeah?" Chloe's face lit up with anticipation.

"What... is blue and doesn't—"

"Is it nerd bird?"

Alice's smile dropped. "Uh... yeah"

"Oh..." said Chloe as her smiled faded. Both geese turned back to staring at the door. They stood in silence for a moment before Chloe snickered to herself. "Great joke, bird butt!" she said and raised her wing up towards Alice, "Come on, up top!"

Alice turned to Chloe and smiled. She was just about to slam her own wing into Chloe's when the door opened. Out came Amy holding the holy basket of deliciousness they had been waiting for. To be fair, the basket didn't contain anything holier than a few pieces of bread, but standing there in the freezing cold at 5 A.M., bread could beat any five star restaurant you'd find during a hot summer day in Argentina.

After finishing most of the unholy bread and cracking a few more quality jokes, Alice and Chloe waddled around the corner, heading for their next stop— the park bench outside the bookstore. Chloe let out a hefty burp while Alice tossed a piece of bread in the air, looked up and opened her beak to catch it.

"Alice, hey!" Chloe wrapped her wings around Alice and pulled her back behind the corner. The piece of bread landed in the snow where Alice had been just a split second ago.

"What?! What are you—"

"Shhh!" Chloe put her wing over Alice's beak to silence her.

"What?" Alice whispered sharply through Chloe's wing.

Chloe retracted her wing, "Look," she whispered and pointed in the direction of the bookstore. Alice's gaze followed Chloe's pointing feather and slowly peeked around the corner. There he was. The blue nerd bird was standing on the sidewalk outside the bookstore, looking up at the door.

"What's he doing?" said Alice, turning back to look at Chloe.

"What? Don't ask me!"

Alice carefully peeked around the corner again. "He's just standing there," she said.

"Lemme see," Chloe squeezed herself past Alice so she could get a peek at the blue bird. Someone must have died, the way he looked. He sighed and then his beak moved.

"What's he saying?!" Alice whispered.

Chloe looked back at Alice, "I don't know," she said, "I can't hear anything with you yapping!"

"Shhh!" Alice grabbed Chloe's head and turned it back towards the bookstore. "Look!"

Blu turned around, puffed out his chest and looked out at the street with a firm look on his face. He drew a deep breath and let it go with a huff before looking to his right, and then to his left.

Chloe's eyes widened. "Is he gonna—?" she said and turned to Alice.

Blu hopped out on the street and waddled across to the other side.

"No way!" said Chloe with round eyes and beak hanging open.

"Where do you think he's going?" said Alice, "Isn't it a bit early for him?"

"Yeah yeah, but... this doesn't make any sense," said Chloe, "I mean, where is his owner?"

Blu walked down the sidewalk on the other side of the road. He seemed to be headed downtown, away from them.

"Wait," said Alice, "do you think he's... is he running away?"

Chloe squinted her eyes, following the blue dot that was disappearing down the street. "I don't know, bird butt, I don't know"

"Hey, let's find out!" said Alice, looking at Chloe with childlike glee.

Chloe turned to Alice and frowned. "What? You wanna follow nerd bird?"

"Yeah, something's going on here, I can feel it!" said Alice with her curious eyes locked on the disappearing blue dot.

"I don't know..." said Chloe. Her face scrunched up like she had just seen someone eat a nasty bug, "I don't think that's—"

"Come on!" Alice grabbed Chloe's wings and dragged her across the sidewalk, "He's getting away! Come on!"

"Alright alright!" said Chloe, bouncing along, "Slow down!"

The geese followed Blu down the street, inching ever closer to him. Eventually they got so close that they had to keep their cackling down so he wouldn't hear them. A few people walked past Alice and Chloe like they were nothing but ghosts, which wasn't surprising considering what species they belong to. The blue macaw in front of them, however, was something out of the ordinary for the townsfolk of Moose Lake. Most people turned to look at him as he waddled down the street. Some even greeted him by name, which was slightly disturbing.

Chloe held a wing out in front of Alice. "Wait, I think he's stopping," she whispered.

Blu stopped near a bus stop and took his place among the few people standing there with their luggage.

"I have a bad feeling about this," said Alice, "where do you think he's going?"

Chloe shook her head. "Alice, you see those bags the humans are carrying?"

Alice nodded, "Uh-huh"

"Those are the types of bags they usually carry with them to..." Chloe's voice trailed off.

Alice turned to look at Chloe. "To where?" she said.

"...to the airport"

Alice gasped and looked back at the blue macaw. Right at that moment he turned to look in their direction. Alice's eyes widened and she tackled Chloe and pulled her behind a trash can, holding her close.

"You think he saw us?!" whispered Alice.

"I don't know, bird butt. If you'd let me go I could take a look," whispered Chloe.

"Right, sorry." Alice loosened her hold and Chloe slowly turned her head around the trash can to peek at the blue bird. She quickly drew her head back again.

"What?! Did he see you?" whispered Alice.

"No," said Chloe, turning to Alice, "he's getting on the bus!"

Alice's eyes grew wide. "We have to stop him!" she said.

"What?!"

"Now!" said Alice as she grabbed Chloe and ran towards the bus.

The rear door on the bus opened and Blu climbed in, careful to avoid being seen by the driver. He turned back to look at the street through the open door and sighed. A friendly robotic female voice welcomed the passengers on board and announced their next stop—Duluth International Airport.

"There he is! Get him!" yelled Alice. Blu's eyes shot up and he darted his head around as if trying to locate their yelling. The geese flew up to him and tackled him off the bus so that he landed on his back on the sidewalk.

Blu shook his head and looked up at his aggressors with his eyes and beak wide open. "Alice?! Chloe?!" he said," What are you doing?!" He struggled to get up. "Get out of my way, I have to—"

"Nuh-uh, you're not going anywhere, nerd bird!" said Chloe. The geese pushed him back down to the ground and held his wings down.

"No! What are you doing? Let me go!" he said and struggled to break free, but the two geese had a strong grip on him.

The bus gave off a blowing sound like a whale shooting water from it's blowhole, and the doors closed. Blu stopped struggling and watched with desperation on his face as the bus gently rolled away, leaving him and the geese all alone at the bus stop. When the bus had disappeared out of sight, Blu turned back to the geese, his face scrunched up with anger.

"Not cool!" he said, "Why would you do that?!" He struggled to get out of the geese's grip but they didn't let go.

"Because, nerd bird, you never go anywhere!" said Chloe.

"Well I do now, so let me go!" he said.

"Without your owner?" said Alice.

The blue bird's face softened and he looked away.

"She's probably worried sick about you, you know, sneaking away from home like that," said Alice.

"Wait, you guys followed me?!" said Blu as he turned back to them.

"Someone had to. Where are you going anyway?" said Chloe.

"I... uh," he said and averted his gaze, "it's sort of... private"

Chloe chuckled and smirked at Blu. "What, does nerd bird have a long distance girlfriend or something?"

Blu gasped quietly and looked back up at Chloe and then he quickly averted his gaze again. The thin layer of feathers coating his face did nothing to hide the fact that his cheeks were turning purple.

Chloe's eyes grew wider. "No. Freakin'. Way."

Alice leaned in closer. "Wait, you actually have a girlfriend? You?" she said.

Blu closed his eyes and turned his head away like he was trying to dig his beak into the concrete. "No..." he said, unable to control his blushing.

"Aw, what's her name?" said Alice, smiling. Chloe raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Alice.

Blu smiled to himself without opening his eyes. "It's—it's Jewel."

"Did you say Joel?" said Chloe.

Blu's eyes shot up and he glared at the geese. "No!" he said, "Her name is Jewel, J-E-W-E-L, and for your information she is the most beautiful bird in the world and I am a stupid idiot because I left her all alone back in Rio when she needed me the most and I really have to get back to her so you two seriously need to let me go right now!" Blu sucked in a big breath of air and his chest heaved with heavy panting.

"Wow," said Chloe.

"That's so romantic!" said Alice, clasping her wings together.

Chloe lifted an eyebrow and turned to Alice. "It is?"

"Don't worry nerd b—uhm—Blu," said Alice, smiling, "we'll help you get back to your girl!"

"We will?" said Chloe.

"Look", said Alice, "messing with Blu is one thing, but keeping him from his girl is just mean. Think about it, Chloe, what kind of bird do you wanna be?"

Chloe looked at Alice, then down at Blu. "She must be special, this girl. You'd really go to Rio by yourself just for her?" she said.

Blu nodded. "I'd do anything for her"

Chloe sighed and let go of Blu's wing before turning to Alice. "Alright," she said, rolling her eyes, "I guess we'll fly love-nerd here to the airport"

Alice's face lit up with a bright smile and Blu raised his eyebrows. "Really?" the two of them said at the same time.

"You'd do that for me?" Blu continued as he got up on his feet.

"Eh, looks like I'm outnumbered by you two love-nuts," said Chloe.

Blu smiled and threw himself at Chloe and hugged her. Chloe raised her eyebrows and looked down at the blue bird hugging her. When she looked back at Alice she was met with a smile and an encouraging nod from her fellow goose.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Oh I can't believe this," she said and wrapped her wings around Blu. Alice smiled as she waddled over and wrapped both of them in a big group hug.

"Thanks guys," said Blu, smiling.

"Alright, that's enough," said Chloe and wrenched herself out of the hug.

"So, you'll fly me to the airport? Are you sure it's not too far?" said Blu.

"No no it's no problem," said Alice, smiling, "unlike you, we migrate every year. This is nothing!"

"Yeah, come on," said Chloe, bending her legs and lowering her body to the ground, "All aboard the Rio express!" Blu and Alice looked at her. "What?", she said, "I can be corny too!" Blu and Alice both laughed while Blu climbed onto Chloe's back and straddled her.

"Alright, hold on tight, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!" said Chloe as she unfolded her wings and shifted her body, preparing to take off. Blu wobbled around until he wrapped his wings around Chloe's neck to steady himself. Chloe and Alice flapped their wings and the three of them took to the skies.

#

"Blu! Blu! Oh gosh, BLU!" Linda was running down the street shouting at the top of her lungs for her friend. She ran up to an older man. "Excuse me sir," she said, "have you seen a blue bird?" She fumbled with her purse and pulled out a photograph. "This is him", she said and held the photo up for the man to see.

The man squinted his eyes and peered at the photo. "A blue bird?" the man chuckled, "Here?"

Linda nodded. "Yeah have you seen him?!"

"No ma'am, I'm afraid I ain't seen no blue birds around here," the man said and leaned back.

"Are you sure, because he—"

"Look ma'am, I may be an old man but I think I'd remember a blue bird if I'd—"

"Uhm, excuse me lady," came a voice from behind them. Linda and the old man turned around to see a young boy standing there. "You're the lady from the bookstore, aren't you?" the boy said.

"Yes?" said Linda, nodding her head and stepping closer to the boy.

"I think I've seen your bird," he said.

"You've seen Blu?" said Linda, "Where?!"

"He was walking on this street," the boy said, "that way". He lifted his finger and pointed down the street.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you," said Linda, cupping the boy's hands with her own and shaking them lightly. "I have to go!" she said, and turned around and started jogging down the street. "Blu! BLU!" she shouted in all directions. The boy and the old man looked at each other and and shrugged.

Linda ran and shouted her friend's name, and then ran and shouted her friend's name some more. Eventually she had to slow down. Her legs and her lungs were aching. She walked over to a nearby bus stop and slumped down on a bench to catch her breath. "Oh Blu," she said. Her breath became shaky and her eyes stung. "Where are you?" Her breath stuttered and tears rolled down her cheeks.

A bus rolled in and stopped in front of her and made a blowing sound when it's doors opened. Linda looked up and wiped tears out of her eyes.

"Welcome aboard," the bus said, "next stop, Duluth International Airport"

Linda's eyes grew wide. "Wait!" she cried, and shot up from the bench. She jumped into the back of the the bus right before the door closed behind her. She sighed in relief and looked around. The bus was crowded with tired looking coat-wearing people and luggage of different sizes and colors. Leaving Minnesota in the winter seemed to be quite popular.

"Blu," Linda whispered and looked around. She bent down and looked under a couple of seats. "Blu, are you there?" she whispered. No sign of any blue bird. She stood up. "BLU!"

"Shut up!" someone yelled.

Linda shrunk back. "Sorry, sorry!" she said.

#

For a bird who couldn't fly it was hard to imagine how beautiful Minnesota could look from above. The snow-capped landscapes and icy lakes glistened in the morning light. The darker specks of trees, roads and houses broke the otherwise uniformly white surfaces and formed unexpectedly structured patterns.

"There!" said Blu, leaning forward so that the goose he was riding on could hear him better. He pointed down to a large gray surface mostly clear of snow, "There's the airport!"

"On it!" said Chloe, "Hold tight!" Chloe banked to her left and began her descent.

"Whoa!" Blu screamed and clutched Chloe's neck. Alice followed suit right behind them.

They landed close to the airport in a less crowded area. "Jeez, you're heavy for a nerd," said Chloe and lowered herself to the ground.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" said Blu as he climbed off of Chloe's back.

"Yeah, he's a little chubby isn't he?" said Alice, smiling.

Blu glared at Alice. "I'm not chubby!"

Alice smirked at Blu and glanced down to his belly. "I bet his girl likes that though"

Blu let out a quiet chuckle and looked away, his cheeks turning purple for the second time that day.

"So uhm," said Chloe, "I guess we won't be seeing you for breakfast tomorrow, eh?"

Blu looked up at her with a weak smile.

Alice waddled over and put a wing around Chloe. "Don't worry, Chloe, he'll get homesick soon enough"

"Yeah", said Chloe, turning to Alice, "and he could bring Joel back with him!"

Blu glared at them. "Hey, it's not Joel, it's—"

Both Alice and Chloe smirked back at him.

"Oh," said Blu, his face melting into a smile, "that was a joke, very funny"

"I think he's learning," said Alice, still smiling.

"Yep, our boy is growing up," said Chloe, putting her wing around Alice.

"Hey," said Blu, "you guys are not so bad"

"You're not gonna hug us again, are you?" said Chloe.

Blu smiled. "Well, I—"

A loud signal echoed through the airport. "This is the final boarding call for flight 267A to Rio de Janeiro. Please proceed to gate four immediately. The captain will order for the doors of the aircraft to close in approximately five minutes time. I repeat. This is the final boarding call for flight 267A to Rio de Janeiro. Thank you."

"Cheese and sprinkles, I have to go!" said Blu and gave the two geese a quick hug before he started running. "Thank you for everything!" he shouted and waved a wing to the geese while he kept running.

#

"Duluth International Airport," said a robotic female voice. The bus stopped and the doors swung open with a blowing sound.

Linda spun out of her seat, hopped off the bus and ran through the big entrance to the airport terminal. "Blu!" she cried, swinging her head around in all directions trying to spot her feathered friend. All she saw was a myriad of tired travelers dragging their luggage around like busy ants on an ant hill. Her chest heaved rapidly. Right in front of her was a large black sign that said "DEPARTURES". On it was a list of today's flights and their times for departure. "Okay, okay," said Linda, pointing to the sign and going down the list, "Rio, Rio, Rio, Rio, R—there!" The plane for Rio was set to take off from gate four at 8.00 A.M. The big clock next to the sign said 7.40. Linda gasped. "BLU!" she shouted and ran towards security.

There was a long line clogging the passage through security. Linda ran over to one of the officers. "Excuse me, officer," she said, fumbling with her purse, "have you seen this bird go through here?" She pulled out her picture of Blu for the officer to see.

"No," said the officer, without looking at the picture.

"B—But officer," said Linda, "you didn't even—"

"No bird goes through here ma'am," said the officer, crossing her arms.

"Are you sure," said Linda, "maybe he's at the gates and you just didn't see him?"

"Ma'am, there is nothing we don't see," said the officer, "Now, if you want to get to the gates I suggest you stand in line like everybody else"

"But—"

"Line!" said the officer, pointing to the end of the line.

"Oh, okay," said Linda, backing up, "thank you officer"

Linda did as told and placed herself at the end of the line. She repeatedly peeked over people's shoulders to see if she could spot her friend on the other side. No friend. She glanced over at the big clock hanging above the line. The minute hand was inching closer to take off-time. People had never moved so slowly in her entire life. What could possibly be taking so long? They only had to get their stuff through, show their passport and answer a couple of simple questions.

 _Wait. The passport._

Linda dug into her purse. It had to be there. It had to. The minute hand on the clock above the line seemed to speed up, and so did the people in front of her. Shoot. Only one person in front of her now. She was up next. How did that happen?

"Oh cheese and sprinkles," she said, digging through her purse, "please let it be there"

"May I see your passport, please?"

Linda looked up. The officer in front of her was asking to see her passport. Shoot.

"Uhm, sure officer, I just... I have it..." said Linda, scrabbling through her purse. She felt something. It had to be her passport. No time to look. She pulled it out and held it up for the officer to see, not daring to look herself.

"Business or pleasure?" the officer said without an ounce of emotion in her voice.

"What?" said Linda, looking up.

"Business or pleasure, ma'am?" the officer repeated.

"Oh," said Linda, letting out a nervous laugh. "Actually, it's neither. I just have to find my bird"

The officer starred at her.

"Pleasure, I guess?" said Linda with a sheepish grin.

After getting her purse and herself through security, Linda ran and yelled for her friend until she reached gate number four. She jogged up to the flight attendant standing at the counter by the gate.

"Excuse me, said Linda, catching her breath, "have you seen a blue bird?"

"A what, madam?" the flight attendant said.

"A blue bird, here," said Linda and pulled out the picture of Blu, "I think he might have tried to board this plane"

The flight attendant took his time looking at the picture. He glanced up at Linda and then back at the picture. "I'm sorry madam, I have never seen anything quite like it," he said. "Why would he be on this plane?"

"He sort of... left me a note that said he was going to Rio"

"Your bird... left you a note?" said the flight attendant, looking at Linda with round eyes.

"Look, I know how crazy this sounds, but I think he's trying to get back to Rio because he..." Linda's voice trailed off and she sighed heavily. "He fell in love with a girl," she said.

"O—kay, well you know what they say about Brazilian ladies," said the flight attendant, smiling.

"Uh, what do they say?" said Linda with a weak smile.

"Oh, uh, never mind," said the flight attendant, shaking his head, "do you have your boarding pass?"

Linda looked down, "I'm afraid I don't" she said, quiet as a mouse.

The flight attendant furled his eyebrows. "Okay, alright," he said and glanced down at his wrist watch. "Okay, look, maybe..." He appeared to be thinking. "Why don't you take a seat," he said, motioning to the chairs around the gate, "and I'll go and look for your bird, alright?"

Linda looked back up at him with a smile. "Oh, that would be great, if it's not too much trouble?"

"No problem, ma'am, you just stay put and I'll be right back," he said and disappeared down the hallway that led to the plane.

A loud signal made Linda flinch. "This is the final boarding call for flight 267A to Rio de Janeiro," a female voice echoed through the airport, "Please proceed to gate four immediately. The captain will order for the doors of the aircraft to close in approximately five minutes time. I repeat. This is the final boarding call for flight 267A to Rio de Janeiro. Thank you."

Linda walked over to a chair and slumped down. The area around the gate was empty. All the other passengers had most likely already boarded the plane. Linda glanced over at the gate entrance, and then at the big clock that hung from the ceiling. It was indeed five minutes to take-off. She rubbed her hands together, her knee jumping up and down. "Oh Blu," she whispered to herself, trying to blink away the water blurring her vision. During quiet moments like these, it was difficult to keep the emotions at bay. Aside from the blue bird waddling towards the gate entrance, she was all alone and she could let it all—

 _Wait. Blue bird?_

"Blu?" she said, wiping the blur from her eyes.

The blue bird stopped in it's tracks and turned to her with wide eyes. Chocolate brown eyes.

"BLU!" she cried.

Blu gasped and ran for the gate entrance that led to the plane.

"Wait!" Linda catapulted herself out of her seat and chased after him, "Where are you going?! Blu!"

If Blu hadn't been using his talons to move around his entire life, he might not have been such a fast runner. For a split second Linda almost wished she had taught him how to fly when he was little, only to clip his wings later. Almost. No. Who would do such a horrible thing? It sure would have helped her now, though. Blu sprinted down the silvery hallway like a headless turkey that had caught on fire.

"Blu, stop!" Linda yelled after him, breathing rapidly, "it's me, Linda, please stop!"

#

Blu glanced behind him. His talons ached and his lungs were burning. He knew what would happen if he stopped; he would break his promise to Jewel. He said he'd be with her as soon as he could. If he let Linda catch him now, she would take him back to Moose Lake and have a long talk with him. There would be hurt feelings, tears and hard decisions to discuss. There was no time for that now. It was either now or never, or as much as it pained him to think about it, it was either Jewel or Linda. No matter what choice he made he would have to hurt someone he loved.

Blu turned a corner and reached the plane entrance. The flight steward by the entrance gasped and watched him with her mouth agape as he ran towards her.

"Hello!" he greeted her and waved his wing as he ran past her into the plane.

The flight steward merely turned to look at him without closing her mouth, like she had turned into a fish statue. She snapped out of her trance when she heard Linda shouting at her from down the hallway.

"Hey, stop that bird!"

Blu ran down the cramped aisle past all the moaning and farting passengers waiting for take off. He looked behind him and saw Linda being stopped by the flight steward at the entrance.

"Wait! That's my bird!" cried Linda and reached her hand over the steward's shoulder, "You have to let me in, I have to get my bird!"

"Please, calm down ma'am," the steward said, blocking Linda's way.

Blu slowed down and crawled under a seat. His chest heaved with heavy panting. He never had to run like that in his entire life, but even if his lungs were about to burst, it was worth it. He was on the plane to Rio now. It was all going to be—

"Gotcha!" A pair of hands wrapped around Blu's body, pinning his wings to his sides. The hands pulled him out from under the seat and brought him up to face his captor—a male flight attendant.

Blu kicked his legs and struggled to break free, but it was no use. "Hey, let me go!" he yelled and glared at the flight attendant.

"Okay, calm down little fellah," the flight attendant said with a calm voice, "let's get you back to your owner"

"What? No!" Blu kicked and squawked and struggled in the flight attendant's grip.

"Nothing to worry about, folks," the flight attendant said to the passengers as he passed them walking down the aisle, "I'll escort this little champ off the plane before we can take off. Please remain in your seats" He was headed for the cock pit. When he reached the door to the cockpit he kicked it open with his foot. "Hey fellahs!" he said.

Inside the cockpit were two large pilots that barely fit into their uniforms. They turned around in their chairs with great effort. "Yeah?" one of them said.

"Bird problem taken care of", said the flight attendant holding Blu out for them to see, "Give me a minute to get him of the plane and then we can take off"

One of the pilots sniveled and wiped his nose with his sleeve. "Yeah," he said.

#

"Please," said Linda to the steward who was stopping her from getting on the plane, "I have to find my bird!"

"Alright, ma'am," said the steward holding her hands up, "just calm down and I will let you go look for your bird, and I'll stay here in case he tries to get out"

"Oh thank you thank you," said Linda, jumping up and down on the spot.

The steward starred at her.

"I'm calm," Linda said with a sheepish smile.

"Please try to make it quick, ma'am," said the steward, motioning for Linda to enter the plane.

"Oh, sure, of course," said Linda, nodding. She entered the plane and walked down the aisle. "Blu!" she shouted. The passengers on either side of her did not look at all amused.

#

Blu struggled to get out of the flight attendant's grip as he was being taken back to the plane entrance. "Don't worry, buddy," the flight attendant said, "your owner is waiting for you right down the hall"

They passed the steward at the plane entrance. Her motionless, fish-like facial expression at the sight of Blu evoked a sort of deja vu feeling. "Wait," she said, coming to, "the bird..."

Enough was enough. Blu bit down hard on one of the thumbs that held him. The flight attendant's primal scream echoed through the hallway as he released his grip. Blu spread his wings wide, which smoothed his fall to the ground enough for him to land on his feet.

"You little—!" cried the flight attendant, holding his thumb and sneering at Blu. "Get him!" he yelled.

Blu gasped and turned around. The steward by the entrance was getting closer. It was now or never. Jewel or Linda. Blu's talons clanked against the metal floor like the sound of a machine gun as he sprinted for the plane with all the strength his legs could muster. The steward was coming right at him and Blu could hear the male flight attendant's heavy footsteps closing in on him from behind.

"Don't let him on the plane!" he heard the flight attendant yell from behind him.

The steward in front of him bent down and held out her arms ready to scoop Blu up. Blu turned to look behind him and saw the male attendant mirroring her.

Blu closed his eyes. The world around him slowed down and became darker. Small crooked brick buildings popped up all around him and yellow street lights illuminated the cramped atmosphere. Clothes hung from lines between the buildings and there were crates, raffle and people yelling at TVs everywhere. The clanking sound of a chain caught his attention as well as the ghostly sound of a familiar female voice shouting at him.

 _Duck!_

"Ducks can fly," Blu whispered softly.

 _No. DUCK!_

Blu's eyes shot open. A pair of hands came into view. He ducked and he could feel the hands barely touching the feathers on his head as they whooshed by. There was a couple of loud thuds behind him and the floor vibrated under his talons. Then nothing but silence. Blu slowed down and looked over his shoulder and saw the two humans laying motionless on the floor next to each other. Their eyes were closed but they appeared to still be breathing.

Blu's beak hung open and his eyes grew wide. He did just do that.

The hallway began to shake violently. A loud rumbling noise and a cascade of light came from behind him. He looked back to the plane entrance, but there was no entrance. There were only small windows passing by the opening at the end of the hallway, light shining in from the sides, which could only mean that the plane had disconnected from the hallway.

"No!" Blu's voice was drowned by the loud rumbling as he once again set his worn talons in motion and ran towards the opening. He had to lean back to help slow his body down before he reached the edge. The magnitude of space between him and the plane was too great for a flightless bird to cross. "No..." he said and reached out his wing as if trying to grab the plane and pull it back to him. His jaw hung loose and his facial muscles hung off his face as he stood there, crestfallen, watching the plane make it's final turn out on the runway and taking to the sky.

Blu was wrong. It was neither now, nor ever. There was neither Linda, nor Jewel. He turned and waddled back through the hallway, his head hanging low. He flinched as he heard moaning coming from the two humans splayed out on the floor. They raised their heads and rubbed their foreheads. Blu opened his beak as his breathing sped up. He backed up a few steps and swung his head around only to be reminded of the gaping hole into nothing.

The female steward was about to get to her feet when the male attendant held out a hand to stop her. "Wait," he said as he sat up on his knees and turned to Blu. "Hey buddy, uhm," he continued and glanced at the opening behind Blu, "we're gonna help you get back to your owner, alright?"

The female steward looked at him. "That's gonna be a... bit of a problem," she said.

"What? No no no, she's waiting at the gates," the male attendant said.

"Yeah, about that. I may have let a... woman on the plane who said she was looking for her bird"

The male attendant glanced back at the opening, and then at Blu. "Okay. That's... that's bad," he said.

Blu turned to look through the opening.

"Hey buddy," said the flight attendant and Blu turned back to face him, "I promise we'll find your owner". He turned to look at the female steward. "Right?"

"We?" she said.

"I'm not the one who let her on the plane," he said.

The female steward rolled her eyes. "Alright, when's the next flight?" she said and stood up.

The male attendant stood up and approached Blu carefully. "I don't know, but let's find out," he said and lowered his hands to the floor in front of Blu. "Come on buddy, we don't want to keep your girlfriend waiting," he said, winking at Blu.

#

"There we go," said Tulio, smiling and fastening the gauze around Jewel's wing, "a beautiful bird all set for another beautiful day!"

Tulio had brought Jewel into the room where he usually performed his checkups. Jewel stood on the table in front of him with her head hung low and her eyelids drooping.

"Hey," he said bending down to catch her gaze, "you're not fooling me with that pouty face, little lady". Jewel glanced over to Tulio's phone at the far end of the table. "What are you looking at?" he said.

Jewel waddled over to the phone, placed her talon on it and turned her head back to look at Tulio. If birds could talk, he could only imagine one word coming from her beak at that moment— _please_. Tulio's smile transformed into a frown. "Jewel, I'm sorry, long distance calls are very—"

The phone sprung to life and whirred around on the table, which made Jewel squawk and jump high in the air. Tulio grabbed the whirring phone and looked on the display. "Linda", it said. His eyes widened and he looked up at Jewel. The corners of his mouth raised slightly. "Well, speak of the devil, huh?" he said, pushed the green button on the phone and raised it to his ear.

"Hey Linda! Jewel and I were just—"

"Tulio, listen, I know I shouldn't be calling from the plane so I have to be quick"

"The plane?" said Tulio, his eyebrows furling, "You're on a plane?!"

"I'm on the plane to Rio, I think—"

"To Rio?!" said Tulio, looking at Jewel who's eyes were just as round as his. "You're coming back?!"

"Look," said Linda, "Blu ran away from home and I think he's on this plane. I think he's on his way back to Jewel"

Tulio's jaw dropped. "That's crazy!"

"Well, that's Blu for you," said Linda, letting out a small chuckle.

"Wha—I mean, when do you land? I'll pick you up!"

"We should be landing in about 30 minutes, I think"

"Okay, see you soon!" said Tulio and parted the phone from his ear and pushed the red button on it's display. He turned back to Jewel who was still standing in the same spot, starring at him, like a stuffed animal. He smiled at her. "Looks like someone special is on his way back," he said.

Jewel's face lit up like the morning program. She took a couple of steps towards Tulio and let out a high pitched squawk.

Tulio chuckled. He could have sworn that squawk sounded like she was saying "Blu". She knew who was coming. "Alright, let's go Jewel, I have to go pick them up," said Tulio and put his arm against the edge of the table. Without hesitation, Jewel climbed on to his arm and squawked some more. She was being awfully talkative, all of a sudden.

Tulio brought her out of the room and turned the corner towards the breeding chamber. Jewel went silent and he could feel her talons creeping higher up on his arm the closer they got. Tulio entered the chamber and marched up to the big tree and lifted his arm up against the hollow. "Go on," he said and shook his arm gently. Jewel didn't move a muscle. Tulio sighed and brought his other hand up to grab Jewel. She spotted his hand and scurried higher up on his arm and fastened herself on his shoulder. Tulio turned his head to meet a pair of stern turquoise eyes starring back at him.

"I'm sorry Jewel, but you have to stay here," he said.

Jewel turned her head away.

"Listen, I can't risk you getting hurt or lost again. What would I tell Blu if I lost you, huh?" said Tulio, nudging Jewel with his forehead. Her hard face melted and she glanced back at him. "Pleeeease," he said with a grin. Jewel looked away again. If birds could be lost in thought, this is what they would look like. Tulio could feel her loosen her grip on his shoulder, one talon at a time. She slowly climbed down his arm and glanced back at him one more time before she hopped into the tree hollow.

"We'll be right back. All of us. I promise," said Tulio and stroked her head feathers with his finger tips. Jewel flinched at first, but to Tulio's surprise, that was the end of it. She actually let him pet her. He smiled as he turned around and left the chamber.

Just outside the door, Sylvio was sitting at his desk leaning his head on his arm, half asleep.

"Sylvio!" said Tulio.

Sylvio screamed and flailed his arms around before he managed to focus his gaze on Tulio.

Tulio's eyelids closed halfway. "Keep an eye on Jewel while I'm gone, will you Sylvio?"

"Of course yes, yes I will, absolutely!" said Sylvio as he stood up and straightened his back.

"That's... reassuring," said Tulio and rolled his eyes. "Oh, and make sure she gets some food," he said before heading out the door.

#

A sea of people surged into the terminal at the Galeão International Airport. All of them travelers from Minnesota. None of them looking anything like Linda or Blu. Tulio's facial features alternated between anticipation and bleakness as he watched the last few people come through. When people stopped coming, Tulio slumped down on a bench. There had to be some sort of holdup somewhere. Maybe it's because of Blu. Bringing a bird into a country is not always easy. Yeah, that had to be it.

Tulio waited, and waited, and waited some more. Every time he glanced at the big clock hanging from the ceiling it seemed like time had frozen. His behind felt numb and he had to stand up. He started to pace around on the spot. Getting a bird through the customs shouldn't take this long. He had to alert someone. He had to ask someone.

"Tulio?" said a voice behind him.

Tulio turned around with wide eyes, and there she was. "Linda!" he cried.

Linda ran up to him and threw her arms around him. Tulio raised his eyebrows in surprise, "I thought you had gone missing!" he said to her and carefully returned the hug. "But, where is Blu?" he said, letting go of the hug.

Linda's face almost sunk to the ground.

Tulio tried to follow her gaze with his. "What?" he said, grabbing her shoulders.

"He's... I don't know," said Linda, "after we landed they helped me look for him on the plane but..." Her eyes watered up and her breathing became shaky.

"Hey, listen," said Tulio, rubbing her shoulder, "Blu is a smart bird, right?"

Linda kept looking at the ground.

"What if he somehow got off the plane after you landed?" said Tulio.

Linda looked up at him and sniveled once.

"If he did, where do you think he'd be going?" he continued.

"You think he's going to the aviary?" said Linda, wiping tears out of her eyes.

"It's the best idea I've got," said Tulio, furling his eyebrows.

Linda averted her gaze and appeared to think for a moment before she spoke. "What if he didn't get on the plane and he's still in Minnesota, all alone?"

"I don't know, Linda. If he is, is there any chance he could be taking the next flight?"

Linda rubbed her arm as if trying to soothe herself. "Well, he _is_ a smart bird..."

"Hold on," said Tulio and pulled the phone out of his pocket, "I'll call Sylvio and tell him to keep an eye out for Blu in case he gets to the aviary before us"

#

Nuts and seeds. The only reason they call it bird food is so they don't have to eat it themselves. Come on, what's wrong with a little color? Where is all the goody, juicy sweetness at? What's wrong with a little taste? Right, that's _human_ food.

Jewel stood in her hollow and glanced at Sylvio who stood in front of the tree with a stupid grin on his face, probably waiting for her to dig into her so called meal. She looked down to the colorless pile of nuts and seeds in front of her. It looked more like dirt and gravel than actual food. She huffed and backed up a few steps.

"Oh come on princess, you gotta eat!" said Sylvio, "It's good for you. Look!" He spooned up a handful of the pile and put it in his mouth and started chewing. Not only did the food look like dirt and gravel, it sounded like it too. Sylvio's face scrunched up and his chewing slowed down. "Okay, maybe not so good," he said. Jewel watched him spit out the food in a nearby fake bush before he wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

Jewel turned her head away.

Sylvio looked around as if to make sure they were alone, and then he slowly leaned towards Jewel and blocked the side of his mouth with his hand. "Hey, I think I have a better idea, wait here," he whispered and disappeared out of the chamber, leaving the door open. Jewel looked down at her wrapped up wing and cursed Nigel for the twelve hundredth time for her inability to propel herself to freedom.

A moment later Sylvio came tiptoeing back. In his hands he was cradling one of the biggest mangoes Jewel had ever seen. She perked her head up and a wide smile crept across her beak. She waddled forward to the edge of the hollow and extended her good wing slightly as if to welcome the magnificent fruit into her life. She had to back up a few steps when Sylvio carefully placed it in front of her. It was the most glorious thing her eyes had rested on for quite a while. She could already taste the creamy, sweet, orange flesh hiding beneath the smooth green surface. Jewel glanced up at Sylvio again. He smiled and nodded at her. This was really happening. Jewel raised her head and opened her beak wide, preparing to dig into the mango.

A phone rang. Jewel froze. Sylvio fumbled the ringing phone out of his pocket and put it to his ear.

"Yes? This is Sylvio!" he said to the phone with joy in his voice. He listened to it for a moment before his eyebrows sunk into a frown. "Oh my, that poor little birdie," he said, shaking his head.

A puzzled expression crept across Jewel's face.

 _What birdie?_

"Uh-huh, okay," said Sylvio to the phone, nodding. A moment later his features hardened and he straightened his back. "Don't you worry, Tulio, Sylvio always keeps an eye open!" Sylvio took the phone from his ear and fiddled with it before he put it back into his pocket. He leaned closer to the hollow which caused Jewel to instinctively back up a few steps. "Seems like your little boyfriend has gone missing," he said.

 _Missing?_

Jewel's eyes grew wide and her beak hung open.

"But don't you worry, missy, Sylvio is on the case!" he said and reached his hand up to pet her. Before he could reach Jewel she ducked her head and backed into the hollow until her tail bumped against the wall.

Sylvio drew his hand back and sighed. "Alright alright," he said, "I'll leave the mango for you in case you're hungry". He turned around and disappeared out of sight.

Jewel stood pressed up against the back of the hollow, her beak open and her chest heaving rapidly.

 _Missing._

The echoes of Sylvio's terrible words still bounced around in her head.

 _Her little boyfr—uh, Blu was missing. How could he be missing? He was on his way back. Tulio said he was going to pick them up. Did Linda lose Blu? How could she? That human is not good for him. Where could he have gone?_

Jewel waddled over to the big mango blocking the hollow entrance and headbutted it until it fell out of the tree. She perched at the edge and looked out over the fake jungle with tight, worried eyes, biting on the lower half of her beak.

 _Maybe Blu made it to Rio? What if he's lost or... what if something happened to him? What if he's hurt?_

The little woodpecker in Jewel's chest banged on the inside of her ribcage so hard that it felt like it was going to burst.

 _What IF he's hurt and all alone out there somewhere? Someone has to find him. Someone has to. But where could he have gone?_

Jewel looked up to the banged up air vent close to the ceiling. It looked just as crooked as she had left it.

 _Where would he have gone?_

#

Blu blinked his eyes open. The world seemed to be out of focus. He looked around and tried to adjust his eyes and found that he was engulfed by a dim, orange atmosphere. It sent his mind on a quick nostalgic trip to the backyard of Linda's parents' house where he and Linda used to camp out in her tent.

He got up on his talons and slipped as the floor suddenly moved. It seemed to be made of glossy plastic. There was a square opening in the wall with steel bars going across it.

He was in a cage.

"Welcome to Rio, sir!" he heard a man's voice from the outside.

 _Rio. Wait. He was going to Rio, but the bus... and then the geese... and the plane. The plane! He didn't... no, wait. That guy—_

There was a knock on the cage. "You still alive in there, buddy?" said a voice from the outside.

Blu squeezed his head out between the cage bars and looked up. The flight attendant from before was looking down at him with a smile. They were cramped together with a bunch of people and their suitcases walking through a large revolving door.

"It's been a long flight. Let's hope your owner stuck around, huh little guy?" said the flight attendant. The door came around to the open end and they marched out into a short corridor that lead them to a large space full of people running around in all directions. Only once before in his life had Blu been in this place—the terminal of the Galeão International Airport.

"I have to go to the bathroom, alright buddy?" said the flight attendant, "Then we'll find your owner, I promise". He darted off to the side where the signs all pointed to little pictures of toilets. Before going in, he put down the cage outside the door.

Blu peeked out through the cage. The lock and handle was located on the outside, way down there. He stuck his wing out and tried to reach it. He grunted and stretched his wing as far as he could but there was no way he could reach the lock. He swung around and stuck his talon out through the bars, but it proved to be even less useful than his wing. He drew his talon back inside the cage and slumped down in the corner.

 _He was in Rio, at the airport. Now what? Jewel is at the aviary. Where is that again? Maybe he should have thought this through._

Blu hung his head low and looked at his feet. A chain attached to one of them. His eyes followed the chain that led to a pair of black talons belonging to a bright, azure female form on the other end of the cage. She was cowering in the corner, her wing wrapped in bandages. She looked scared. Hurt. No, broken. Perhaps all three. She slowly turned her head to look at him. Her beak didn't say anything, but her turquoise eyes did. Blu remembered the words Jewel had said to him when they last spoke— _"Don't take too long"._

"Blu!?" came a voice from behind him. His eyes shot up and he shook his head. He slowly turned around and looked out through the opening, and he found himself starring right into the eyes of Tulio.

"Meu deus, it is you!" said Tulio with big round eyes. "Why are you in a cage?!"

Blu carefully glanced in the direction of the men's room.

"You know what, it doesn't matter. You've got a couple of ladies waiting for you," said Tulio, smiling, "and I'm gonna take you to them!" Tulio stood up, grabbed the cage and marched into the sea of people. He barely dodged a few people that got in his way and a few of them bumped into the cage. It was a rocky ride, much like trying to navigate a spaceship through an asteroid field. The crowd soon parted and they seemed to have made it through in one piece. On a bench by the wall sat Linda, starring at her knees, looking like someone had died. As if sensing their presence, she slowly looked up in their direction, and her eyes and mouth grew into the size of bowling balls.

"Blu?!" she said, leaning forward. Tulio performed a cheeky smile as he walked up to her and placed the cage on her lap. Linda placed her hands on the sides of the cage and peeked into the opening.

Blu's neck retracted and sunk between his shoulders as he lifted his wing to greet her. He cleared his throat. "Ehrm, uh, hi Linda!" he said with a sheepish smile.

Linda looked up at Tulio. "It's Blu! Tulio, it's Blu!" she said with sparkling glee. Blu could hardly stand on his feet as the cage kept tumbling around from Linda's knees jumping up and down.

She grabbed the handle on the cage door and was just about to open it when Tulio placed a hand on hers. "Wait, not here," he said with a smile, "let's go home"

#

Green hills, a deep blue sea, palm trees, people having fun on white beaches, warm winds caressing Blu feathers—it was like going back in time. Last time he had been in Tulio's jeep on this very road, he had been nervous and slightly anxious about meeting another bird of his own kind, a lady nonetheless. He had been nervous about what she would think of him. That hadn't changed.

 _Would she be happy to see him, or would he get his butt kicked? That was the question._

Blu swallowed a lump in his throat.

"Hey," came a voice from outside the cage, "you okay?". Linda was smiling at him through the cage bars.

"Yeah, sure, of course!" he said and performed a smile for his human companion.

Linda chuckled and looked around at the scenery for a moment before turning back to Blu. Her smile was gone. "So, I was thinking," she said.

 _Uh-oh._

"I don't think I can handle you running away like that ever again, Blu," she continued.

 _Definitely uh-oh._

Blu let his gaze fall to the floor.

"And you won't—" Linda drew a quick breath, "you won't have to, not if you stay here"

 _What?_

Blu's beak hung open. He couldn't possibly have understood her correctly. He waddled closer to the opening and put his wings on the cage bars.

Linda averted her gaze from his and bit her lip. "Look," she said, her eyes watering, "Jewel needs you, and you're a big boy now. Look at what you did, all by yourself". Linda paused and looked around at the scenery. When she looked back at Blu she was smiling through tear filled eyes. "I think you need her too," she said.

Blu's eyes stung. Linda might have been right. He blinked as his vision became blurred with tears of his own. Linda leaned her head down and Blu stuck his head out through the cage and closed his eyes as he touched his beak to Linda's nose.

#

Passing through the front door to the aviary, Blu could feel his heart racing. It was really happening. Jewel was going to kick his butt, for sure, but she would be so glad to hear the good news! Going through the hall, they passed the many birds of different shapes and colors being fed and cared for by Tulio's people. For a second Blu could have sworn that every bird looked like Jewel, as if her radiant life force was seeping through the entire aviary, transforming everything in it's path into her image.

Sylvio stood by his desk in a military stance as they passed him on their way to the breeding chamber.

"Thanks Sylvio, how's Jewel? We have a visitor for her," said Tulio and motioned to Blu's cage.

"She's—I think she's sleeping, sir—uh, Tulio, sir!" he said, straightening his back even more.

Tulio rolled his eyes and opened the door to the chamber. "Ladies first," he said, bowing to Linda"

"Oh," Linda chuckled, "thank you!" She carried Blu's cage into the chamber, put the cage down on the floor and opened the door for him. Blu carefully stepped out on the earthly painted floor and lifted his head to look at his companion standing above him. "Go get her, tiger," she said, smiling.

 _Wow. Linda always knew the coolest things to say!_

Blu smiled back at her and began putting one talon in front of the other. He turned his head back and, to his surprise, Linda was already leaving the room. Blu turned around again and marched towards the big tree at the center of the chamber. It was just him now, as it was supposed to be. His heart pounded in his chest and it felt like ants were crawling all over his legs. If birds ever skipped, that's what he would say he was doing.

He stopped at the base of the tree, closed his eyes and and drew a deep breath. Once continents apart, and now the colored pegs on the side of this tree were the only things standing between him and his promise.

Blu lifted his talon and grabbed onto the lowest peg and began climbing. Before reaching the hollow entrance he made sure to be as quiet as possible so he could surprise her. He bit down on the edge with his beak and carefully pulled himself into the hole.

"Guess who's ba—oh?", he said, starring into an empty hollow. There was nothing there besides a messy nest-like structure on the floor with feathers scattered all over it—light blue feathers. Blu's face tightened into a frown as he picked one of the feathers up with his talon. "What happened to you?" he said to no one in particular as he studied the feather.

He swung himself out of the hollow and climbed onto the nearest branch. When he reached the end of the branch he had a clear view of the entire chamber. "JEWEL!" he shouted. The only thing echoing back at him were the monkey sounds coming from the speakers.

He stood in silence as he looked around the chamber. Something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. It was the air vent high up on the wall, the one that Jewel had almost cracked open when they first met.

It had a big gaping hole right through it.

###


End file.
